LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals has initiated the first clinical trial of its bivalent intramuscular vaccine candidate for the treatment of stomach flu.

The vaccine contains virus-like particle antigens and is designed to offer protection against group I and II noroviruses.

The trial will enrol 98 individuals in three separate treatment arms, and will evaluate the safety and efficacy of LigoCyte’s intramuscular formulation of the vaccine in healthy adults.

Norovirus infection is characterised by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. It affects about 23 million people in the US every year.